Words of Healing
Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Our words can cause a wounded heart to decay, or they can bring healing and revitalize the injured soul. They can deaden the spirit of man, causing him to give up on God, or they can be therapeutic to his bones as medicine is to those who are ill.
During our younger years as Christians, my husband and I had a lot of baggage and worldly habits that followed us into our new life in Christ. Two sins in particular others could detect whenever we were near, smoking and alcohol. Through much prayer, God delivered both my husband and I, but the road was not easy, especially for my husband. He worked in sales at that time and it was a custom for engineers and representatives to have long lunches, like a social event to make or close a deal.
It caused many problems in our marriage, yet my husband was not aware of just how resentful an attitude I was getting towards him. The Lord started working on my heart and I realized all my bitterness and anger was not going to change my husband. Only the Lord could do that.
A dear Christian friend at our church, during prayer meeting, took my husband aside and confronted him concerning his drinking. There in church, through prayer and the words this dear saint spoke to him, my husband realized he could no longer serve two masters. From that moment, healing and restitution began and they were health to his bones and sweetness to his soul.
Many times my husband has used the example of this dear brother in Christ, as how to confront a brother who is backslidden. Words can either bring a Christian back in fellowship with the Lord or cause them to further dabble in sin. So choose your words wisely and remember they should be sweet as honeycomb, pleasant to receive.
Here are a few verses to look up:
Galatians 6:1; James 5: 19,20.
© Copyright 2003 Dawn K. Smith All rights reserved.